My quickie trip to visit my CM DD! June 10-14

[Minniespal]

Excellent start ~ Can't wait to read more.

 

[Bonnie40]

Monday morning we were up early to take advantage of EMH at MGM. It was raining, so I was glad I brought along our dollar store ponchos!

Again, we lined up at the CM spot, only to find out that because I didn’t put Shayna’s name on the room reservation, she didn’t have a room key and they wouldn’t let her enter early! We hadn’t thought about that!

Oh well, no big deal, we just waited until park open and headed to T of T! Kept telling my mom how amazing the theming was and not to be intimidated by the screaming coming from the attraction! Well, she must have been pumped, because we walked right on and she did it! Boy was she proud of herself!

The rain certainly put a damper on things, that’s for sure. We fastpassed RRC (ended up not even getting there) and moved through the park to Muppet 3D. Cute, but definitely dated. We were trying to stay inside, so we went to Drew Carey’s Sounds Dangerous…? Probably the lamest attraction at WDW and they should close it down IMHO…It felt dirty and really, really dated in there.

Had a very early lunch at the ABC Commissary where we always enjoy the Asian Noodles. I know lots of people don’t like this place, but we always enjoy it there.

Went to the first show of Lights, Motors, Action and were glad to be under the roof. I couldn’t believe how big that grandstand is! The show was good, but because of the rain, there were things they weren’t able to do. Just as it finished, the sky opened up and it rained buckets! At this point, we were done. When your shoes and socks are soaking, it’s not fun anymore!

We headed out of the park and back to ASSports. We all had a good rest (might as well because it was teeming rain!) and then got ready to head out to MK with Shayna who had to work at 6 p.m.

The rain let up a bit, and we were able to grab some dinner at Cosmic Rays before she went to work. We all had the half chicken with potatoes and carrots and I have to say it was very tasty! The potatoes were really good (pretty much like at home) and it was just what we were looking for.

Headed out and took a picture of where Shayna needed to ‘go down the rabbit hole’ to get ready for work. Told her we would see her later in Toontown and moved along in Fantasyland.

We have a bit of a running joke in our family about It’s A Small World. We don’t like it! I said it…(ducking for cover!)

We had fastpassed Peter Pan (one attraction my mom remembers from 1980 and really loves) and did Mickey’s Philharmagic (one of the best attractions at Disney!) As we were passing IASW, I commented that there was no line and it had been refurbished…maybe we should actually do it! My mom was in, but Jarrett just about fell over at the suggestion! I made him come with us, we didn’t mind it that much (even though Jarrett made a point of closing his eyes and keeping his head down!), and as we were exiting, I see Shayna standing there and when she sees us she starts bawling her head off!

Turns out she had been looking for us and probably wouldn’t have found us if we hadn’t gotten on IASW…funny how things work out eh?

Seems she went down to the CM locker room, was getting ready for work, and made a quick run to the bathroom without locking her locker. You guessed it – in the span of a couple of minutes, someone noticed the door wasn’t all the way shut, and stole her work shoes! When she came back, she thought it was funny that it was completely shut and opened it to see the shoes were gone! Well, unfortunately, my darling daughter doesn’t handle stress very well and completely panicked and lost it! She can’t work without the proper shoes, was running around trying to get someone to help her, but unfortunately, she’s just a little cog (sp?) in a really big wheel. She realized that she would have to call and take a ‘personal’ day at the last minute, which didn’t make her happy and she then changed back into her street clothes and made her way through the park to find us.

Any mom knows how stuff like this works…the minute she saw me, she lost it again! Could barely get the story out and she was angry! Unfortunately, a really tough life lesson to learn, but it’s really sad that it had to happen at the happiest place on earth! Really crushed the magic…

She was trying so hard not to curse…”What kind of people does this place hire anyway?” was what I kept hearing over and over. Realized a change of plans had to happen and told her we would all head out, grab a cab, and go to the Outlets and buy another pair of shoes. Thank goodness my mom and Jarrett just go with the flow, and my mom knows when to keep her mouth shut, because you could cut the tension with a knife!

I was trying to figure out a way of traveling without spending a small fortune on a cab, so we traveled by bus from MK to SS Resort, which I knew was close to DTD which would be the closest and cheapest route to the Outlets.

Lovely resort, but under the circumstances, I won’t have fond memories of it! We got off the bus at SSR, couldn’t figure out exactly where we were, and started walking along the road. At this point, no one’s really talking, Shayna’s still crying and pissed off, and I haven’t a clue where I am…not good!

At this point, I make some comment about pulling it together, and Shayna states that I should just buy her a ticket and she can come home with us because she doesn’t want to work somewhere where people steal her stuff! There wasn’t much holding her here anyway, and the shoes are the last straw!

Just typing this 2 weeks later makes me cry…I just turned to her, hugged her and told her she wasn’t coming home because of a pair of shoes! She’s crying, I’m crying and my mom and Jarrett are just standing there not knowing what to do!

We get the cab, travel to the Outlets, and by this point she realizes that I’m not budging. We buy the Reeboks (with a sizeable discount because the guy felt bad for her once I told him what had happened) and decided that now that we were off property, we might as well do some shopping! Fortunately (or unfortunately) shopping is Shayna’s drug of choice! She instantly felt better (even made that comment) and we had fun checking out the stores. I was willing to buy her anything to make her feel better (sad to say), but the exercise worked and in the end we had a great night! She apologized for all the drama and realized that it would have been dumb to leave over shoes!

We cabbed it back to DTD, where we treated ourselves to some kind of fabulous iced mocha thingie at Ghirardelli’s and sat by the water for a bit. Grabbed the bus back to ASSports and headed to bed. Between the busy day and the stressful night, we were all exhausted!

 

[aGoofyMom]

"We buy the Reeboks (with a sizeable discount because the guy felt bad for her once I told him what had happened) and decided that now that we were off property, we might as well do some shopping! Fortunately (or unfortunately) shopping is Shayna’s drug of choice! She instantly felt better (even made that comment) and we had fun checking out the stores. I was willing to buy her anything to make her feel better (sad to say), but the exercise worked and in the end we had a great night! She apologized for all the drama and realized that it would have been dumb to leave over shoes!"

Retail Therapy is my drug of choice too! Your Mom sounds like quite a lady too. Enjoying your report, even with the stress.

 

[missmun52]

Great report. I am so sorry to hear that someone took your daughters shoes. What a horrible thing to do. Who does that!!?? Some people are just terrible.

I had a friend in college that had a roomate that was wearing her underware and putting them in her dirty laundry. she knew because she was a neat freak and folded everything (even underware) and noticed that her things were moved around. When she looked in her dirty bin she saw underware on the top she never wore. The girl had problems she envied her but long story short some people are just nasty and rude, the only people they think of is them selves but you just have to move on because that how the world is sometimes.

Not letting your daughter come home is the best thing you could have done for her because you live and learn but you shold never stop living because of someone else you would never make it in life if you did that.

 

[DisneyDoll10/28]

Great TR!
I have to say while I was a CPer I wanted to leave a few times and had a love- hate relationship with the Mouse, so I completely understand your daughters feelings. After I got home, I told everyone and ANYONE to NOT do the CP because I was so discouraged with how my internship went. But here's the thing : If you are going inbetween semesters/quarters to just get outta dodge (so to speak) and learn something new, then its a FAB opporuntity. If you go after your last semester and go with the intent of finding a job (as I did) it's a complete DOWNER and either way, it does open the doors later with other employers (it's their first question "tell me about working at Walt Disney World"). My best advice to your daughter is to stick it out and then do the advanced internship in a few semesters so she has more of a chance to do something in her major or close to it and not feel like the "slave labor" that CPs most times are. The program is what she makes of it and thats a true lesson that will carry thru out her life.

 

[CPer'sMom]

The program is what she makes of it and thats a true lesson that will carry thru out her life.

Exactly! As with any job you take the bad along with the good ~ even the "bad" things are a learning experience.

My daughter did the advantage CP so she was there Jan - July. I know she will always look at her Disney experience and the friends she made as one of the best experiences of her life. BUT, if she had only worked there during the summer months that would not be the case ....

 

[MyGoofy26]

Sorry to hear she's having a less than stellar experience on the program. It's funny how so many people walk away with very different experiences and feelings.

I did my program Fall 2000, Vista Way. They had JUST opened up Chatham, and only part of that complex was open so most people still lived in Vista Way. They were in the process of rehabbing buildings at Vista Way, ended up moving us about a month in to a newly renovated place (new furniture, fresh paint and carpet, NICE) We really lucked out with the new place, our neighbors were great and it still makes me laugh remembering the guy downstairs standing on his couch to pound on the ceiling to let us know he was home or to see if we were home (we'd have to stomp back if we were) We'd have to tiptoe in the mornings if we didn't want them to know we were up yet, LOL.

I also lucked out with my job. One of my friends had a HORRIBLE time with her job, the people were awful and really gunned for CPs and she ended up getting terminated after a manager fudged some infractions. My area, everyone was awesome. They really looked out and took care of us. Out of all the CPs in my area, only one was unreliable and just there doing the minimum. The rest of us worked hard, loved our jobs, etc so the fulltimers loved us and made sure we were always alright. They made it really easy to not feel homesick - in fact it wasn't until my mom and aunt came to visit on Christmas then left that I started to feel homesick (and only had 2 weeks left! LOL)

Oh. . . did your daughter take you to Property Control? I took my mom and aunt and they STILL talk about it (and yeah, I miss it too, LOL)

 

[CPer'sMom]

I also lucked out with my job. My area, everyone was awesome. They really looked out and took care of us. Out of all the CPs in my area, only one was unreliable and just there doing the minimum. The rest of us worked hard, loved our jobs, etc so the fulltimers loved us and made sure we were always alright. They made it really easy to not feel homesick -

That's how my daughter's area was too. The full-timers were great, which is one of the reasons she stayed on as 'seasonal' (the perks are good tho' too!). She loves going back to see everyone and work a few days every 5-6 months.

 

[Bonnie40]

I was dreading Tuesday because I knew it was our last full day at Disney! We were up and ready to hit Epcot at opening, with ponchos in hand! We were excited to ride Soarin’ and it definitely didn’t disappoint! I believe we fastpassed it, and then waited in a short line. That way we got to do it twice. We all loved it, and my mom is still talking about it two weeks later!

We fastpassed Test Track and we all enjoyed it. Even though MS has been adjusted, we decided not to ride. We enjoyed walking around the Living Seas, but didn’t get to do Turtle Talk with Crush because the line for it was soooo long! I was disappointed because I knew my mom would have enjoyed it!

The rain was nasty, and made it difficult to move around the park. We headed to World Showcase to decide on a nice lunch. Dinner was out because Shayna had to work so it would be our last nice meal together. I wasn’t sure where to go, but once we saw Germany, I knew the Biergarten would be a good choice. It was just before noon, so we just waited and were immediately seated when they opened. We had never eaten there before, but we were all looking forward to good comfort food. We were not disappointed! Shayna was dying for the roasted pork and real food! Service was excellent, and everything was very tasty. My mom enjoyed a nice beer and it was so nice to get out of the rain! From the chicken soup to the warm apple strudel, everything was delicious! The only disappointment was the roasted pork hocks…my mom had a hard time finding much to eat on them but I don’t imagine they’re a hot item on the menu anyway!

After eating way too much for lunch, we headed back out in the pouring rain. Did I say how hard it was raining? Gosh, it was pouring buckets! We traveled around WS, but it wasn’t all that enjoyable. We decided to head back to ASSports and dry out a bit. Feet up for a bit, and then off with Shayna to MK! We were all feeling a little anxious – wondering if she was going to be in trouble for not being at work the night before. We made her take the receipt for the new shoes just in case a manager asked her about it, so she could prove what had happened. Unfortunately, gearing up for work seemed to bring back her frustration at what had happened, and she was suggesting putting notes on her locker to the perpetrator of the crime. It really got under her skin!

Dropped her off at the ‘rabbit hole’ and decided we definitely had to do Peter Pan! It was the longest wait of the trip! We waited in line for 45 minutes! Hopefully my mom thought it was worth it! We couldn’t fastpass it because we were planning on going to MGM when the fastpasses would have been good. I can’t remember when we did Splash Mountain – I think it was on the Sunday, but my mom did that ride too!

We headed back over to Toontown to make sure Shayna was at work with no problems. Well…as many of you know, Toontown isn’t that big, and do you think we could find her? All I could think was that somehow she had been fired because of the day before! Had to ask 3 different CMs before anyone even knew who she was! No wonder she’s having trouble making connections! My panic was starting to increase and I knew my mom was feeling it too! We finally talked to a really nice CM who knew who Shayna was and told us she was ‘in costume’ and at work, but probably was cleaning the staff room or something. I’m sure she thought I was nuts for asking crazy questions, but you can only imagine what was going through our minds! Finally, did see her running Barnstormer, took some pictures and both my mom and I commented on how happy she looked and how hard she was working. Warmed my heart!

Now it was time to travel to MGM to have my mom see Fantasmic. The weather was finally cooperating, and because of the shoe incident, we hadn’t gotten there. We traveled from MK by monorail to the TTC, and then grabbed a bus to MGM. Unfortunately, it took longer than I thought it would (nature of the beast I guess) and it was standing room only by the time we got there. We did stand and watch, but of course it wasn’t the same as having a fabulous seat. We were able to bogey out of there quickly once it was over, and moved through MGM at a nice pace.

Left the park and back to the resort. We ordered a pizza from the food court and started to get organized to leave in the morning. Shayna arrived back at the resort around 1 a.m. and it was funny because my mom was fretting about her getting back okay. I know we were both pretty much sleeping when she knocked at the door, but my mom flew out of bed and opened the door before she was fully awake! Swore she wasn’t sleeping! Shayna was happy to see pizza and started flipping through channels while she ate. Of course, we’re all awake now, and somehow she starts talking about God and wars and how if we didn’t have religions, there wouldn’t be war (no flaming please!) It was funny to realize that my mom and Shayna are having this deep discussion at 1:30 a.m.! That would never happen at home!

I know no one wanted to talk about the fact that we were leaving in the morning. So many people comment on not wanting the vacation to start because you know it’s going to be over before you know it. I get that. I dread it. I hate goodbyes. Especially saying goodbye to one of my kids. Up until this adventure, I haven’t had to do it. I don’t think it every gets easier...

 

[Hanover]

You are doing a nice job on the TR. I sure whish they'd have had that program when I was in college! Did your DD ever find out who took her shoes? You think that they would have security cameras in the employee areas for safety/security reasons.

 

[JulyGirl]

I am really enjoying your trip report! Your mom sounds like a wonderful lady. I hope you daughter is doing well.

 

[missmun52]

I am sorry to hear your report is coming to an end

 

[Corinne]

Hi Bonnie:

It sounds like your daughter is having quite a learning experince at WDW! I can relate with her to a degree. Although I was never a CM at WDW, I was a CM for the DS and know what it is like when some of "the magic" is taken away. I hope the rest of her summer goes well, and that overall, it will be a wonderful experience! Maybe we will see you in August!

 

[Bonnie40]

My last installment brings us to Wednesday, June 14 – our departure day. As you can all imagine, I hate the end of a vacation and I know how hard it’s going to be to say goodbye to Shayna.

We were scheduled to leave the resort via ME at 10:35 a.m. We were up with time on our hands, so we decided to spend some time around the pool before heading out. Shayna wanted to write a quick Father’s Day note for her dad and we just sat outside for a bit. Everyone was feeling the anxiety and we ended up getting our stuff together, ready to go around 9:45 a.m. We walked to the bus area and figured out that it would be easiest for Shayna to grab the AK bus and then grab a CM bus from AK.

A ME bus pulls up – the 10:05 departure bus, and we asked if we could catch a ride with it. No problem! I think it was the best thing – the standing around was killing everyone at that point. Our luggage was taken care of, and the goodbyes started. I walked Shayna to the AK bus line and I think we scared a few guests who probably didn’t understand why we were both crying!

It was harder to say goodbye this time, than it was when she left in the first place! The excitement of a new adventure wasn’t there this time and the reality of her situation wasn’t quite what we thought it was going to be. It was hard. Really, really, hard.

Afterward, my mom commented that when I walked away with Shayna, Jarrett turned to my mom and said “waterworks”!

The bus ride was a quiet one and I was feeling bad about leaving her standing there alone at the bus stop. Still makes me cry just thinking about it.

Once at the airport, the mood picked up and we grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and came upon a Crocs kiosk! Why didn’t someone tell us there was one at the airport? OMG! We were so excited because they had the new Athens style and my mom and been saying how great they would be for her sore, tired feet. If we’d have known, we would have bought them when the trip started! All three of us bought a pair and I’m sure we looked like crazy tourists, but it was fun! Doesn’t take much to make us happy!

The flight home was uneventful and it was good to see my husband, son and dad waiting for us at the Buffalo airport. As it turned out, they had a fabulous time getting together for dinner (we just live down the street from each other) and made the best of us being away. Neither my mom or myself had ever traveled without our husbands! We were worried they’d be a little lost, but they kept each other company!

Now for the update…it’s June 28 and I haven’t touched base with Shayna today…she’s busy and might even be doing some character auditions today. She does call pretty much every day and we chat and catch up on what’s going on here and in WDW. Yesterday was a watershed moment – she actually made a comment about maybe coming back….that’s right….after all the stress, grief and homesickness, the magic of Disney has made its way back to her!

We’ve come to the conclusion that the experience has been a good thing for her. Unfortunately, she went with pretty high expectations and somehow still wanted it to be like all our vacations have been there…magical! Work is work, and she admitted yesterday, that she really is enjoying her job in Toontown. That’s the magic of Disney people…that’s the magic!

She’s the freaky Disney person who wanted to get married there; she’s the one that listened to Disney tunes in her room and drove the neighbours crazy; she’s the one that cried everytime she saw the gates and watched Wishes. I was so worried that this experience was going to take all that away from her, but I’m not worried anymore. She’s still the freaky Disney girl who now knows more about Disney than her mother does and still lives in that fantasy world that Disney is so good at creating. Thank goodness! I would miss it!

Thanks for reading guys! I will write a TR when we get back in August!

Bonnie

 

[Bonnie40]

I did forget to mention that we had a light dinner at Pinnochio Haus on Tuesday and decided to try the salad bowl without meat. Both my mom and I had it and it was the most dreadful salad I've ever eaten. It was so bad that we should have taken it back. It had marinated vegetables in it and they were so salty and bad tasting that I was worried we'd get sick. It was the only thing we left pretty much untouched.

 

[missmun52]

Great report! I am so glad things are looking up for your daughter. Beofre you know it August will be here and she would have had one of the best experiences!

 

[4forWDW]

I really enjoyed reading your TR. My DD is only 8 1/2 and I am already telling her about being able to work at Disney when she is in college--I figured I would start planting that seed early
I told my DD and my DS-5 1/2 yrs old that I was reading a trip report about a girl who was doing the internship program and she got to "run" Goofy's Barnstormer!
They thought that was the neatest thing--you'll have to tell you daughter that she is a hero!!